Just Another Day
by wafflebunnies
Summary: He's got the brains; he's got the smarts - but not with women, especially her. ShikaIno one-shot.


**Hello, this is a ShikaIno one-shot. It's also one of my favourite Naruto couples. It won't be long, but I hope you will like it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

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Women were troublesome, so was she... _especially _her. So, why did he like her?

A nineteen year old Shikamaru from the Nara famliy gazed up the sky filled with fluffy clouds, sighing with frustration. Women were never his kind of thing, but he realized his feelings for a certain blonde - Yamanaka Ino. The lazy jounin closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, then exhaled.

Before that mission, Shikamaru thought he would never, ever liked Ino - especially the first day they got into the same team with Chouji. He always thought of her as loud, suck-up to hot guys (aka Uchiha Sasuke), bitchy, and annoying. But now, his perception changed. Of _course _she was still loud and bitchy and annoying, but she was also kind, friendly, brave, and a lot more.

Even the IQ 200 genius Nara couldn't list every one of them.

One of the things that made him like her more was her maturity level. After their jounin exam, she had became way more mature, she wasn't obsessed with Sasuke anymore like she used to be. In fact, she actually hated him for betraying the village.

The Nara jounin rested his arm behind his head, closing his eyes shut as he fell into a deep slumber.

"Yo Shikamaru, you're awake." The Nara jounin heard someone said, followed by a munch in the background. He yawned lazily as he stretched his arms. Rubbing the sleep off his onyx eyes, he sat up on the grass. Akimichi Chouji was sitting beside him, with a packet of chips. Typical Chouji.

With another yawn fought against his lips, he replied with a grouchy voice. "Yeah... Dunno why but I feel pretty tired and lazy today." His eyes fixed on the clouds, trying to make out the shapes.

"Happy new year, Shikamaru." He said with a grin, grabbing another handful of chips and shoved it into his mouth like there was no tomorrow.

"Huh? New year?" Was the Nara's reply.

"Dang, today is the first of January! How can you forget? Gee, it's the first day of the year..."

Oh. He didn't even bother to glance at the calender. Oh well, good thing that Chouji brought up the topic. But still... "Who cares about new year...?" It wasn't exactly a question, more like a sarcastic remark. The Akimichi just shrugged casually. "Happy new year, anyway." Shikamaru added.

The two best friends sat in silence, despite Chouji's munching sound. The silence was broken as Chouji spoke in an annoyed and exasperated tone. It took the Nara off guard. "Shikamaru...just _when _are you going to confess to her?" His sentence was spoken word by word, as if he had said a hundredth time to a toddler.

"What are you talking about, Chouji?" He muttered, obviously not following what Chouji was trying to say...more like _pretending _not to.

The Akimichi jounin finally stopped eating as he got his full attention on Shikamaru. "I mean, when are you gonna confess to _Ino_? It's obvious that you like her." He chuckled at the end of the sentence.

What? Chouji _knew _that Shikamaru liked Ino? How? Did Chouji like...read his diary without his permission? Wait, Shikamaru didn't even own a diary. So, _how _on earth did he figure out? Was it that obvious?

Shikamaru snorted, still playing dumb. "I don't know what you're getting at, pal." He chuckled and patted on Chouji's shoulder.

The Akimichi boy sighed, as if he was feeling sorry for the Nara genius. "Oh well, Shikamaru. What I am saying is, don't wait too long or you will lose the chance. You know, Ino is pretty popular with guys..."

Ouch, the last sentence stung. He wondered why. "Catch you later, Shikamaru. Remember, don't wait too long." Chouji got up and headed back, leaving Shikamaru dumbstrucked.

Tch, did Chouji even _know _what the hell he was talking about? Who did he think he was, a relationship counsellor? Huh, he still had a long way to go. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

But then, he thought he could confess to Ino. Well, not right now...but when he thought it was the right time. Since they were childhood friends, it wouldn't be that awkward, would it? But what if she didn't like him? What if she liked another guy? What if...

The Nara quickly pushed off the what-if's in his head.

He had decided. Nara Shikamaru was going to confess to Ino, whatever it took. Because in fact, Ino _was _popular with guys - judging on her hot figure, cute face, gorgeous blue eyes, cute cherry lips, sexy legs, big b-

The Nara jounin slapped his cheek. He tried not to have dirty thoughts, but hell was it hard.

It was after dinner when Shikamaru was walking to a park near the Nara residence. He leaned against a tree and looked up to the dark sky, filled with stars and a full moon. It was a pretty sight, but not as beautiful as day time, with those white, fluffy clouds floating in the air.

He thought about how he was going to confess to Ino. As he thought about several ways to confess, he rolled his eyes at himself.

Really now, he didn't expect him, the anti-women guy would think about how to _confess _to some girl he liked. But here he was, brainstorming on how to confess. Sigh, he almost felt sorry for himself. But still, it was worth it.

"Hellooooo, Shikamaru!" He heard a loud, feminine voice said his name. He snapped to the direction, seeing a girl with a long ponytail running to him, waving her arm. _It's Ino_.

He lifted his arm and waved lazily, then dropped it beside him. She skipped her way to him, bouncing as she did so. Ino was as energetic as ever. He had never seen her tired before.

"Sup, Shika?" It was the nickname Ino had given to him, since his name was pretty long. At first, he was annoyed by the nickname, but as time passed, he'd grown to love it. Whenever he heard the name 'Shika', he thought of Ino. It was only her who called him that way, and he liked it.

"Nothing much, same old same old." He answered in a casual tone.

Ino giggled lightly as she punched his arm playfully. "You're hopeless."

They chatted about different things, like how they would help Chouji go on his diet or their trip to visit Asuma's grave in the following week.

The Nara thought it was the right time to confess when their conversation met a silence. They both watched the stars on the sky as Ino hummed her favourite tune. He took a deep breath. "Um, Ino?"

"Yeah?" She tore her eyes off the sky and paid full attention to Shikamaru. He tried not to be nervous.

"I like someone, Ino."

"Huh?" She was taken off guard by his statement, then her eyes lit up with excitement. "Really? Who is it?"

"Hmm," Shikamaru pretended he was thinking. "She is kind, sweet, and brave... but sometimes she has a really bitchy attitude. She's pretty popular with guys, though. That's why I can't just sit and watch her to be taken," he chuckled and continued.

"I know I'm not someone a girl would drool over, but I hope she likes me. Yeah, I know I'm never good with girls, so I hope this girl would understand. Since she is my childhood friend, and also my teammate, I hope things can go well between us." He turned to look at Ino's shocked face.

"I like you, Ino." His lips curved into a faint smile. He had never been so nervous in his life. He could even hear his heart thumping heavily behind his ribs, as if it would jump out from his throat any second. He tried to calm himself down.

"Shi-Shikamaru..." Ino said, clearly awed and surprised.

The Nara was getting panic. "W-well, you don't have to give me an answer. At least, not now. You don't have to accept if you like someone. You know, we can just be friends if you want but-" He was cut off when Ino placed her lips on his, holding his face with her right hand, as her left arm curled behind his neck.

He was shocked, he stared at her blankly as she pulled away. "You were rambling, so I had to shut you up." She smirked.

Shikamaru blushed, but shook it away. They stared into each others eyes. Though it was only for a few seconds, it was more than enough.

He slowly bent his head down and kissed her softly. Their lips fitted perfect as they moved against one another. His tongue licked her lower lip lazily, asking for permission to explore her mouth. She gladly accepted and their tongues explored each other's mouth, playing games and had a tongue-to-tongue fight.

The two broke off, ending their make-out session, gasping desperately for air. Shikamaru looked at the Yamanaka with a smirk. "Nice for a beginner."

She winked at him playfully.

They both sat on the grass as Shikamaru had his arm over Ino's shoulder, and she leaned against his chest for warmth. Just then, fireworks lit up the sky with different colors, shining and blinking one after another. "Wow..." Ino murmured, awed. "New year's fireworks. How cool do they look! Oh yeah, today is the first day of the year!"

"Who cares..." He mumbled. _As long as you're with me, everything else is nothing. _"It's just another day."

"Baka," she poked him on the cheek with a grin. "It's not just another day."

Shikamaru sighed. "What is it then?"

"It's the day we had our first kiss, _and _your confession to me."

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**How was it? I hope you liked it! Please review XD**


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